


The Pearl of Youth

by Mycreativewritings



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, crew is protective of Fili, fili and kili create a friendship, fili is a hard worker, fili is a pirate, his father is the captain, life on the ship is weird for the company, quite a lot of original caracters, so is his father, that's how the captain works, the company travels along, they have to do some work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-21 07:17:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1542269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mycreativewritings/pseuds/Mycreativewritings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fili is the son of captain Ravenblood, one of the best and most dangerous pirates alive. Fili goes on a quest, together with his father and crew, to find the Pearl of Youth, the most wanted treasure in the pirate world.<br/>Before they leave, a group of dwarves ask if they could join, to get to the other side of the sea. Ravenblood at first refuses, but changes his mind when the dwarves offer him money. However, Ravenblood doesn't really trust them and keeps a good eye on them. </p><p>It becomes two quests at once, involving a lot of danger, risk taking and friendships are creating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preview 'The Pearl of Youth'

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this idea of Fili as a pirate (blame this amazing drawing: http://alythekitten.tumblr.com/post/57516208447/rosengris-alythekitten-i-just-mixed) I'm not sure if people would like the idea, so that's why I put up this small bit of the fic. If you enjoyed it, please let me know:)

He had heard the tales. Countless of times. He knew them by hard now. He had heard the timeless stories of it. Endless adventures. He always thought of it as a legend. A mystery to never be solved. A mystery that didn’t want to be solved. That wanted to stay hidden. Hidden from the world, to never be found.

 The Pearl of Youth. It was the most wanted treasure in the pirate world. A big and mighty pearl, made by the mermaids of the Northern seas. A pearl that would give you your youth back. A pearl that would make you immortal. Untouchable.

 

 Fili had always made up scenarios in his head, where he found the pearl. Where he, his father and the men of his father had the pearl in their hands, feeling the power floating through them. It made him feel powerful, strong, capable of everything.

 Never in his life had he expected to truly go looking for it.

 His father had always hungered for the pearl. The thought of an immortal life was a thought that would never leave his head. The things he could do with the pearl were endless. But immortal life was the most important one.

 

Sir Ravenblood. Captain of the Diamond. Father of Fili. He was known as a goodhearted man, yet feisty and dangerous. Nobody knew what he was capable of exactly. He was a mystery around everyone. But, always with good manners. Unless people are really bothering him. Than they would stand no chance. No chance at all.

 

Fili had joined his father’s crew at the age of 15. He wanted to join earlier, but his father didn’t let him. He found Fili was too young to start sooner than 15 years. He couldn’t risk taking such a young child along on his ship. But above all, he didn’t want to put his son’s life in danger at that age.

 He was now 18 and had turned into a real pirate. The crew had been around him since his birth and they were really close with each other. Fili was just like his father. Feisty and confident. Not afraid to show who he really was and definitely not afraid to fight you when needed. His father couldn’t be more proud of him.

 Of course, Ravenblood was strict father. He needed Fili to turn into a strong and independent lad, not a weak wallflower. Fili needed to know how to face the world, not to be afraid of it. He needed to know about the dangers of it, all the flaws, all the good things.

 

Fili needed to learn life.


	2. Ready for Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the actual story:) I did get some positive feedback so I decided to go for it. Enjoy:)

_He had heard the tales. Countless of times. He knew them by hard now. He had heard the timeless stories of it. Endless adventures. He always thought of it as a legend. A mystery to never be solved. A mystery that didn’t want to be solved. That wanted to stay hidden. Hidden from the world, to never be found._

_The Pearl of Youth. It was the most wanted treasure in the pirate world. A big and mighty pearl, made by the mermaids of the Northern seas. A pearl that would give you your youth back. A pearl that would make you immortal. Untouchable._

_Fili had always made up scenarios in his head, where he found the pearl. Where he, his father and the men of his father had the pearl in their hands, feeling the power floating through them. It made him feel powerful, strong, capable of everything._

_Never in his life had he expected to truly go looking for it._

_His father had always hungered for the pearl. The thought of an immortal life was a thought that would never leave his head. The things he could do with the pearl were endless. But immortal life was the most important one._

_Sir Ravenblood. Captain of the Diamond. Father of Fili. He was known as a goodhearted man, yet feisty and dangerous. Nobody knew what he was capable of exactly. He was a mystery around everyone. But, always with good manners. Unless people are really bothering him. Than they would stand no chance. No chance at all._

_Fili had joined his father’s crew at the age of 15. He wanted to join earlier, but his father didn’t let him. He found Fili was too young to start sooner than 15 years. He couldn’t risk taking such a young child along on his ship. But above all, he didn’t want to put his son’s life in danger at that age._

_He was now 18 and had turned into a real pirate. The crew had been around him since his birth and they were really close with each other. Fili was just like his father. Feisty and confident. Not afraid to show who he really was and definitely not afraid to fight you when needed. His father couldn’t be more proud of him._

_Of course, Ravenblood was strict father. He needed Fili to turn into a strong and independent lad, not a weak wallflower. Fili needed to know how to face the world, not to be afraid of it. He needed to know about the dangers of it, all the flaws, all the good things._

_Fili needed to learn life._

 

But Fili didn’t know better. Life on the sea, water surrounding you, hearing his father yell out commands, working on the ship himself, carrying found treasures, everything. That was his life. And he wouldn’t change anything about it.

 

But his life was about to change. And a lot it was. His father had planned a quest. A quest to find the Pearl of Youth. 

* * *

 

‘The journey will be long. It will be dangerous and risky. Are you willing to overcome all those things and join me and the men on this quest?’ Ravenblood asked Fili, the evening before take-off.

 

Fili said nothing for a minute. He stood up and walked over to the window of their house. He looked at the sea and it was like the water was calling out for him, begging him to come. He looked down and up again. He turned around to face his father again: ‘Is this it? Are you really going to search for the pearl?’

 

Ravenblood nodded: ‘Indeed I am. I have been waiting for this my entire life. This seems like the right moment, this feels like the right moment. This, this is the right moment.’ The captain looked at his son and stood up. He walked over to him and laid his hands on Fili’s shoulders. Fili looked up and his father spoke up: ‘Fili, you have heard all the tales, you know how important this pearl is. You have always been fascinated by it, you always asked me to tell you more. I never could. My boy, this is your chance. This is our chance to finally find it. I want you to come along with me. I need you, I can’t do this without you.’

 

Fili looked at his father and bit on his lip. He sighed and cracked a smile: ‘Father, for the whole of my life I have been wondering what it would be like to find the pearl. To, feel it, to see it. With my own eyes.’ He pulled away from his father and turned around. He laid his hand on the frame of the window and said: ‘I always wanted to know what I would feel, seeing and feeling the pearl. What I could discover from it.’

 

He turned back and smiled at Ravenblood: ‘I will join you, father. I will seize this chance and find the pearl with you. For you.’ Ravenblood smiled and laid his hand on Fili’s shoulder again: ‘That’s my boy. Pack your things, we’ll be leaving at dawn.’

 

Ravenblood turned around and walked to the door. ‘Why do we leave so early?’ Fili asked before his father had the chance to open the door. ‘Don’t ask questions, Fili. The sooner we leave, the better. Now, no more questions. Pack some clothes and go to bed. Am I clear?’ Fili sighed and nodded. Ravenblood sent him a smile and left the room.

 

Fili walked to his window and leaned with his elbows on the wooden still. He put his head in his hands and stared up at the reflection of the moon in the bright sea. Tomorrow morning he would sail away on that sea, sail away to find that one thing he had been fascinated by his whole life. Tomorrow the biggest adventure of his life would start.

 

‘Fili! Go to bed now or I’ll refuse to tag you along.’ His father’s voice disturbed his peaceful thinking and he sighed: ‘I’m sorry, father!’ No answer came and Fili took that as a ‘it’s alright.’ He climbed on his mattress and blew out his candle.

* * *

 

Kili sighed. Another night under the stars. Not that he minded, but he had been sleeping outside, under a tree, in the cold air, for the last couple of months. Never did it occur to his uncle to rent a room in a nearby inn or such. But apparently he couldn’t complain. None of the men did, so he couldn’t either. At least, that was how his uncle placed it.

 

Thorin Oakenshield. The exiled king under the mountain, leader of the company. Uncle to Kili. They were on a quest. A quest to reclaim their homeland.

 

The Lonely Mountain.

 

Kili had heard tales of the mountain, Thorin always told them to him. He was proud of it and wanted to go home more than anything. Kili had no idea what to expect when it came to the mountain. He knew about Erebor, he knew about Smaug. But he didn’t know what it was like, he wasn’t born when that happened. His mother, his uncle and the company were the only source of information for him.

 

His mother had refused to let him come, too scared she would lose her only and beloved son. Thorin, however, wanted Kili to come. As his rightful heir, Thorin found Kili had the right to see his future kingdom. He needed Kili to join him and the other dwarfs on the quest.

 

It had taken a lot of effort and begging before Dis finally agreed on letting Kili come along. She did it against her will, definitely, but Thorin had made sure she knew he would watch out for him. But that didn’t calm her worries for Kili.

 

She made him promise to come back to her and Kili promised her he would do anything to come home. She had given him a rune stone, to let him remember his promise. It almost made Kili change his mind about going but Thorin found he had done too much effort to let Kili stay home. After a lot of hugs and tears, Dis let go of the hand on her son and had watched how he went on the quest.

 

Kili can still remember the words she had told him. _I will always be proud of you. Don’t ever forget that. Da would be beaming with pride when he was here, you know that. I love you, my son. I’ll be waiting for your return._

He gave the stone a kiss and put it back in his pocket. He turned on his side and looked at his uncle. Thorin was busy discussing how they would travel tomorrow morning. They had to go through a town of Men and that was something Thorin would rather not do. The Men there were different. They were not just a poor village. It was a town filled with pirates.

 

Kili had never seen a pirate and had no idea what exactly they did. They were dangerous, that was all he could get out of the countless stories of Dwalin and Bofur. Thorin simply refused to talk about pirates. Kili was sure it was because he had never met a pirate.

 

Now he was thinking about, had any of the company ever met a pirate? Sure, Dwalin and Bofur had told him stories about them, but they had never met a real one. Kili knew that they sailed around the world with huge ships, hunting for gold. Criminals of the sea was how Kili liked to describe them.

 

He sure did understand why Thorin didn’t want to go across it, but they had faced worse. Orcs and goblins sure were much more dangerous than some Men who could fight. Or at least could sail an enormous ship.

 

‘There is no way around it. We have no choice.’ Kili heard Balin said.

 

_No way around it_

 

They were going to go through the town. Kili was going to see and experience what pirates were like. He didn’t know why he was so excited, but it was at least better than meeting orcs.

 

He quickly shifted around when he saw the small company getting up to sleep themselves. He looked up at the stars and grabbed the stone for one last time. He gave it a kiss and whispered: ‘Goodnight, mother.’ He put it back in his pocket and went to sleep.

* * *

 

‘Load everything in! We’re leaving in 15 minutes!’ Ravenblood yelled as he stepped on his ship, Fili following him.

 

Fili always wore the same. A blue bandage wrapped around his head, long hair in a ponytail, bits braided around his face. Brown boots, a loose white shirt, black, loose, leather pants and a golden necklace of a lion.

 

He got that once from a strange lady, far off in Africa. She was selling all kinds of necklaces. Different colours, different patterns. But this one, this one was specially made for him, according  to her. He had the face and attitude of a strong lion, she told him.

 

Fili was carrying wooden coffins as he walked on deck, not really seeing where he was going. He kept on moving his head, hoping to finally see something. And as he was trying to look around the boxes, he couldn’t hear one of the men, Morwen, walking off deck to get more of the coffins.

 

*boom*

 

Fili stumbled backwards and fell on the ground, coffins barely missing him. ‘Oi! Watch where you going next time!’ Morwen exclaimed as he stood up. ‘Sorry. It won’t happen again.’ Fili muttered, piling the coffins in his arms again. ‘Hey, it’s you. Sorry, Fili. I thought you were Basil. The bastard has stolen sixteen of my golden coins last night and I want them back.’ Morwen apologized and helped Fili piling up the boxes.

 

‘It’s fine, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Is there still much to be loaded?’ Fili asked, finding his balance again. Morwen turned to the land again, scratching behind his head: ‘Ehm, no. Everything is taken care off. I think you can tell your father we’re ready to leave.’ Fili nodded: ‘Aright, Morwen. Thanks.’ ‘No problem, laddie.’ Morwen smiled and turned around. ‘Hey Basil! You and I have some business to discuss!’ he suddenly yelled when he saw a short man walking on deck. The man, Basil, started laughing in a nervous way and turned around. ‘Stay where you are!’ Morwen yelled and ran after him. Fili rolled his eyes, grinned and walked up to his father.

 

‘Any more?’ Ravenblood asked when he saw Fili putting down the coffins. Fili shook his head and pointed to the last couple of men loading in the boxes: ‘Those are the last one. We’re ready to leave.’ Ravenblood laughed: ‘Perfect! ‘Clear the deck, hoist the sails, we’re leaving!’ he yelled.

 

‘No, sir! Wait! Paschall is not here yet!’ Basil exclaimed, sending nervous glares to Morwen. ‘I could give a rat arse about him! He’s late, it is his own fault he’s missing the quest.’ Ravenblood said annoyed. ‘But Paschall has all the records. Without him we can’t let the ship arrive to the lands.’ Basil said. ‘Aargh! Someone go and get him.’ Ravenblood hit the rails with his fist and sighed deeply. Basil rushed off the ship and Fili walked back to the rails.

 

He suddenly saw a group of people. A group of small people passing by. His eyes grew big when he saw them. The one at the front was obviously leading them. He looked so sure of himself and was looking around him, taking in everything he saw. Fili followed them with his eyes, curious to see where they were going. One of them, Fili decided to call him the little one, was looking like he had never seen any of it.

 

Fili turned to his father: ‘Father, can I leave for a short moment?’ ‘You too? How many of you are going to leave too?!’ Ravenblood exclaimed and in the corner of his eye, Fili saw the small people, dwarfs, turning around to the ship. ‘Please, it is for no longer than 10 minutes. I’ll be back before Basil.’ Fili said. Ravenblood sighed: ‘No longer than 10 minutes or I’ll drag you back on myself.’ ‘Thank you father!’ Fili said and rushed off the ship.

* * *

 

Kili couldn’t believe his eyes. This was different from Laketown. It was much more crowded and the people seemed more cheerful than Bard’s people. He saw the ship on the side of the harbour, and was amazed by how big it actually was.

 

Bofur noticed and tapped Kili on his shoulder. Kili turned around and Bofur said: ‘There are much bigger than that one, you know that? And this one, this one is about to leave.’ ‘What did you say?’ Balin turned around, facing Bofur. ‘W-What? Oh, this ship is about to sail away. Probably to the other end of the sea.’ Bofur answered, a bit confused.

 

‘That’s where we need to go. Thorin, we could-‘No.’ ‘But-‘Balin, no. We can’t trust them.’ Thorin said, not willing to sail along with them. ‘Thorin, Bard had brought us to Laketown. You said we couldn’t trust him either. These people don’t know who you are, if that’s what you’re afraid of.’ Thorin bit his lip: ‘What if they do? Are they willing  to bring us to the other end?’ Balin said nothing and suddenly looked up. Thorin turned around and stepped back when he saw someone was standing in front of them. ‘What do you want?’ Thorin asked in an arrogant way.

 

Fili stared at the dwarfs for a second before answering: ‘Oh, my apologies. But I noticed how lost you were looking and I was wondering if I could maybe help you out?’ ‘Do we look like we need your help?’ Thorin asked, not waiting for any help. ‘Thorin, not now. Ehm, yes. We were wondering, where does that ship go to?’ Balin asked, looking up at Fili. ‘That one? Oh, well, I can tell you where we’re going, but-‘You are sailing along?’ the little one asked. Fili nodded: ‘Well yes, my father is the captain. But anyway, we are heading to the north.’ ‘North. We need to go there too. Is there any way we could travel along?’ Balin asked.

 

‘I, I don’t know. If you could wait for a second, I will ask my father.’ Fili stuttered and ran back to the ship.

 

‘Father, I need your help.’ Fili walked up to Ravenblood, who was looking more than annoyed. ‘What are you doing there, Fili? Who are they?’ Ravenblood looked up. ‘That’s why I’m here. They need to get to the north as well and are wondering if they could travel with us?’ Fili asked, looking at the dwarfs. They were staring at him and Fili turned back to his father. ‘Fili, this is not a trip to just the north. We are going on a quest to find the pearl. We can’t stop along the way to drop them off at their destination.’ Ravenblood said and walked away from the rails.

 

Fili ran after him: ‘Father, please. Why can’t we do that? Is it really that much of an effort?’ Ravenblood turned around and said: ‘It will cost us time. And time is money.’ ‘Is there any way I could make you change your mind?’ Fili begged. ‘Take me to them.’ Ravenblood said and that was final.

 

‘How long will he take? I’m done waiting.’ Thorin said, looking at the ship. ‘Give him some more time. Look, there he comes.’ Gloin said and pointed to Fili. He had the man he was talking to with him.

 

‘These are the dwarfs.’ Fili said and looked at them. Ravenblood looked at them and sighed: ‘I’m very sorry, but you can’t come along. This is not just a trip, I can’t afford dropping you off at wherever you need to be.’ ‘We will pay you.’ Balin said, getting a deadly glare from Thorin. Ravenblood looked at his ship and back again: ‘I won’t change my mind. This quest is important and I can’t-‘We’ll pay double.’ Balin brought in. Ravenblood turned to Fili, who gave him a nod. He sighed and turned back: ‘Do you have any belongings? If it is much, leave half of it behind. We need our space.’ ‘Thank you, sir. We appreciate it very much.’ Balin thanked and sent a smile to the rest. ‘Yeah, yeah. Fili, go back and get the ropes ready.’ Ravenblood said and pushed Fili to the ship. ‘Yes, sir.’ Fili said and ran back on the deck. ‘We are about to leave. Follow me.’

 

The dwarfs followed Ravenblood on the ship and looked around them. Kili was the last one to step on the deck and was a little nervous. Bard’s boat was a bit different than this and it made him nervous to think they were going to sail on this for the next couple of days, weeks, maybe even months.

 

‘Alright. The door there leads to my room, stay away from there. You stay with the others, which is underneath the ship. Fili, get their stuff to the sleeping quarters down .’ Ravenblood and gestured to the blond boy, who was struggling with ropes. He ran back  to them and gathered it all in his arms. ‘We can do it ourselves!’ Thorin exclaimed. ‘If you want to travel with my ship, you follow my rules.’ Ravenblood said, looking down on Thorin. Thorin only sent him a glance before stepping back.

 

‘Do you need any help?’ Kili asked, not wanting to bother anyone. ‘No, no. It’s fine. I’ve done this before.’ The boy, Fili, said and walked to a rope. He pulled on it and opened an entrance. He slowly walked down the stairs and they heard him dropping everything.

 

He walked back on the deck and closed it again. ‘Rawsone! Are Basil and Paschall there yet?’ Ravenblood yelled to the man in the Bird’s Nest. The man, Rawsone, stared down and yelled back: ‘Yes, sir! I see them!’ ‘Thank god.’ Ravenblood muttered and walked up to the steering wheel of the ship.

 

The dwarfs sat themselves down at the railing, ignoring all the stares they got from the crew of the ship. They looked up when they heard footsteps.

 

‘Watch out, Fili! Coming through!’ Fili jumped aside when Basil and Paschall ran on the deck. ‘Father’s not happy with you.’ Fili hissed as they raced past him. And he sure wasn’t.

 

‘Why are you so damn late, Paschall?!’ Ravenblood exclaimed angry. ‘I’m so, so sorry, sir! Agnetha couldn’t say goodbye to me.’ Paschall apologized. ‘Next time, leave before your wife wakes up. You have barely made it. You would have missed it if you weren’t the one with all the records. Alright! For real now, hoist the sails! We are leaving!’ ‘Aye, sir!’ was being called out from all directions and soon the ship was filled with men running around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter, I know, finally:) I hope you'll enjoy it:) x

As his father yelled out commands, Fili grabbed the cannonballs, together with Morwen. He grabbed one of the nets and wanted to lift it up. Only it was too heavy for him and he dropped it back to the ground. He didn’t think of giving up though and tried again. He grabbed the rope a little tighter and tried to pull it up again. It came off the ground for no longer than a second before dropping back to the ground again.

Morwen grinned and shook his head as Fili dropped the sack for a second time. He threw his net effortlessly over his shoulder and patted Fili on his shoulder: ‘Try dragging it, boy.’ Fili shot him a deadly glare and Morwen walked away, laughing. Fili bit his lip and started dragging the net, trying to keep up with Morwen.

* * *

 

‘How long will this journey take? We cannot lose any time.’ Thorin hissed as the pirates were working fast and hard around them to get the ship to leave.

The company stood by the railing, cornered together, trying to keep the men from walking into them.

 

Ravenblood stood at the steering wheel, pointing into different directions, yelling out commands. He black boots stood firm on the ground, his hand onto the wheel, his long, red coat flying along with the wind.

Ropes were bond together, the big sails were being set out, canons underneath the deck were getting into attack mode, men were rolling cannonballs to those canons and men cleared the deck.

 

‘I do not know, Thorin. But we will not lose time. I am certain this journey will take less time than getting there by foot. Be patient, my king.’ Balin sighed, turning around to the sea.

The sky was clear and blue, like the water itself. Fish, it was crawling with fish. Blue, red, yellow, no colour was missing amongst them.

The sea started moving and so did the ship. The dwarfs grabbed the railings, not used to such a huge ship. The wooden railings started moving, them being not so steady as they once were. The big mast was shaking along, sails waving in the wind, the wooden deck making cracking noises and the steering wheel was circling like mad.

The deck was moving from left to right and the dwarfs could swear the ship was about to collapse. ‘Are they completely mad out here?!’ Dori’s voice cracked as he desperately tried not to fall over.

* * *

 

Kili wasn’t sure what was going on. He couldn’t keep himself steady, not even with the help of the railings. He turned around, still holding on tight, and tried to find Fili. Maybe he could see how he did it, keeping balance. But he couldn’t spot him for a short moment.

A noise came from behind him and he turned to the opening in the deck. Fili came out of it and closed the gap. He was used to it all and it was easy for him to keep himself steady. He had no urge to reach for the railing, however, the urge to check on the dwarfs was big for him and he couldn’t resist turning around to them. He caught Kili looking at him and quickly turned his head to the left, gave the sea a glare and walked over to the company.

Men were still walking into every direction and Fili had to duck and move around several times before he got to them.

He cleared his throat, getting all the dwarfs to turn around. Fili’s face grimaced, he could swear some of their faces had turned green. He cleared his head and said: ‘The railings will not provide you strength. It will not keep you from tumbling into the foaming water. They are strong, but not strong enough. This ship is older than my father will ever be and these railings have been there the entire time. Not ever have they been replaced.’

Kili focused on Fili’s talking. It was relaxing and soothing in a way and it kept him from freaking out all over again.

Fili noticed and he went on: ‘I can see you are not used to these kind of ships, am I right?’ ‘Why would that be any of your concerns?’ Dwalin asked, not trying to show his fear for the water. ‘I once feared the sea, like you. I can still see myself as a little boy, on this ship, not daring to come close to the railings. I know how it feels. And trust me, it is not pleasant. I would suggest for you to sit down and wait for it to be over. It will not take long, I promise.’ Fili answered, sending a glare to Dwalin.

‘And why do you care? We are simple dwarfs, traveling along with you. We did not ask for your help.’ Gloin said, bitterness edging every word that came out of his mouth. Kili shot him a deadly glare and wanted to say something about it, but Fili was faster.

The boy bit his lip, not understanding what was wrong with the dwarfs. But he wasn’t someone to let people just talk to him like that. He was nice and sweet, but feisty when you were nothing but bitter to him.

‘I was trying to help you, trying to give you a suggestion. If you cannot take it, then why would I even bother helping you out?’ Fili snapped, not meaning to sound as cold as Gloin in the first place.

‘Than why did you do it?’ Thorin turned to Fili, hands firmly wrapped around the railing. ‘Because I thought you’d be over it by now. I thought that maybe you were now convinced we would not intend to hurt you. Maybe I was wrong.’ Fili said, now not afraid of what would happen.

Thorin let go of the safe zone and walked closer to Fili. He looked up and pointed his finger at him. Fili backed away, but Thorin kept him near: ‘I would net speak in such foolish tone to me, boy. If I were you, I’d-‘You’d do nothing, master dwarf.’

Thorin snapped his head up and saw Ravenblood standing behind Fili. Ravenblood pushed his son behind him but before pushing him to the rest of the crew, he pulled him close and hissed in his ear: ‘Do not ever approach these maniacs without me.’ Fili quickly nodded and rushed away.

Ravenblood turned back to the dwarfs and narrowed his eyes. Thorin glared at him, feeling the eyes of his company burn in his back.

‘You are guests on my ship, you are traveling along my side. Where did you find the nerve to threaten my son? One more move like this, dwarf, and I’ll throw you off the ship.’ He shot them a glare and walked back to the steering wheel.

 

Thorin turned back, only to be met with an angry Kili: ‘Why in Mahal’s  name did you do that, uncle? There was no need to do such a thing!’ Kili exclaimed. ‘These are men we’re talking about, nephew! We cannot trust a single soul on this ship. Not that captain, not his son, no one.’ Thorin muttered. ‘I trust Fili. I’ve known him for no longer than an hour, but I trust him. I don’t understand what has gotten into you.’ Kili looked up at Thorin with his eyes.

‘And you will never understand, if you are too foolish to learn a thing! You are young and I hope that one day you will get to understand why I make certain decisions. I am doing this for you, Kili! For you and Dis! Do not dare judge me.’ Thorin snapped, grabbing Kili’s arm. Kili jerked away and said in Thorin’s face: ‘You are doing this for you and you only. You are being unreasonable and blind, not seeing the kindness of these men.’ He bit his lip and walked away to the other end of the deck.

Thorin followed Kili with his eyes and felt his hands turn into knuckles. He turned back to his men, biting on his lip, pissed off: ‘This fucking trip leads from one disaster to another and we haven’t been on the way for no longer than an hour. I should have never agreed on this. Never.’ He pushed Balin out of the way and walked to the other end of the deck, far away from his stubborn nephew.

 

The company sighed deeply and Bofur smashed Gloin on the back of his head. Gloin immediately snapped around and yelled: ‘What was that for?!’ ‘You are just as guilty as Thorin, Gloin! You were the one to snap at the poor boy first. For no particular reason too.’ Bofur answered, sounding angry for the first time in his life. Gloin muttered something no one understand and looked down.

* * *

Fili leaned on the railing, surrounded by the crew. He was cooling down from his outburst and tried to come back to his senses. ‘Fili? Mate, are you alright?’ Rawsone asked, laying a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Fili turned to him and sighed: ‘Yeah, yes, I am. Thanks for your concern, but I am alright.’ ‘Well, I’m not. That rat shouted at you, insulted you, threatened you! I will not stand by and let that happen!’ Morwen snapped and wanted to go the company. Basil stopped him: ‘Don’t start another fight, Morwen. This is enough for the day.’ Morwen looked at Fili and said: ‘This isn’t over, Fili. They will not get away with this.’ He jerked away from Basil and went back to work.

‘He is not wrong, though. These dwarfs are only causing trouble, we should have never let them join.’ Basil brought in and walked after Morwen.

Fili took a deep breath and glared over at the company. He tried to understand, but couldn’t. He was trying to work it out in his head, but it came out on nothing. All he tried was to help. What did he get in return? Bitterness, cold voices. Nothing thankful at all.

Only the little one, Fili overheard his name was Kili, was reasonable. He didn’t know his relationship to their leader, but it was obvious Kili dared to speak up to him more than the others.

Fili overheard Kili’s outburst and silently grinned at himself. That bastard of a leader was being silenced by the youngest out of all of them. And not in the softest way. Fili cringed when the dwarf grabbed Kili’s arm but relaxed when Kili roughly pulled away, giving the stranger a name.

Thorin.

Fili narrowed his eyes. Where did he hear that name before? It sounded familiar in his ears, but he could not place it.

And as he was thinking, he watched how Kili walked away, anger all in his eyes.

Fili suddenly got the urge to draw him. Yes, Fili loved drawing and was good at it. An artist, that was how the crew saw him. He had a little book, filled with doodles and portraits of everything his eyes caught around him. However, his father was not so fond of it. He found it childish and girlish and could not understand why Fili loved it so much.

Fili didn’t mind him or his judgements and always bought his book. He held it in his back pocket and grabbed it. He reached for his pencil and wanted to start on sketching Kili when his father’s voice belted through his ears.

‘Fili! Come on! Stop dreaming and help out the lads!’ Fili sighed and put away his drawing book.

 

His doodling had to wait for later.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! If you did in fact enjoy it, please, please, please comment for me. It would be very useful if you did:) x


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the next chapter! I am so sorry for the long wait, but I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> But before you start, I actually got artwork for this story! The amazingly talented Alice drew this amazing and sick drawing of Fili on the tumblr: http://alythekitten.tumblr.com/post/84775789957/illustration-for-mycreativewritings-3-for-her-fan
> 
> Enjoy! :D

With the sound of seagulls shrieking from the air on the background, Fili was sat in the corner of the ship. He sat on top of a barrel, feet barely touching the ground. He was next to the border of the ship, seeing nothing but crystal blue water, which was swarming with all kinds of sea animals.

In this left hand, Fili hold his little doodle book. It had a black leather cover with on the inside white/yellow pages. Because the book had been on a lot of seas, it had been wet multiple times. Therefore there were some hardened pages due to the drying.

The entire package was bounded together by a strap of black leather. The same leather from which the cover was made.

The book was everything but empty. Over the past few years, Fili had drawn a lot of doodles, portraits, people, animals and more in it. The pages were filled with funny and small doodles. On the back of the book, Fili kept pages empty for long term work such as portraits.

He had made a portrait of his father and he was damn proud of it. It was his best work, according to him. The lines of his father’s cheekbones were perfect, his beard stood out like it should, the buttons on his coat, the feisty and confident look in his eyes, his big black boots. It was all perfect. But it had taken him a while to draw his father. He was always walking around and Fili wanted it to be perfect.

And his hard work had paid off. His father loved it. It is really the only drawing Fili had ever made that was interesting enough for him. Ravenblood was never really interested in Fili’s doodles and drawings. As said earlier, he found it childish.

_“A true pirate has got fighting skills running through his veins. Not this doodle foolery. You should focus more on learning how to use a sword instead of a pencil.”_

But Fili never listened. He happily ignored it but of course did work on being a good pirate. His father had given up but did see that Fili could balance the drawing perfectly fine with the tough sea life.

He was a good pirate. And a good artist.

Fili was looking intensely at Kili. The young dwarf was at the opposite of the ship, also in a corner. He was leaning with his arms over the railing, his head on his hands.

Fili started to think what to start with. The way his legs crossed each other, the way his arms were hanging over the railing, his long and blue tunic. They were all points Fili tried to make stand out. But it was especially his hair. Fili found it very interesting how his brown and long hair was coming down to the middle of back. Not braided, unlike the other dwarves. It was clipped back with a silver clip, which Fili found stunning.

It had a small patron on it and Fili wanted to draw that first. Only, Fili was too far away to see it properly. He wanted to walk over to Kili to ask if he could have a look at it, but his father had forbidden him to go to any of the dwarves without his permission and Fili was sure that that uncle of his wouldn’t allow him to come close to his nephew.

Fili sighed and looked at the empty page. This way he wasn’t going to get anywhere. He looked up again and stared at the silver clip. He just had to get a closer look. Just for the patron. He could draw the patron on a different page if he had to. He just needed that patron.

“Fili! Go and empty those barrels! They are filled with rotten fish.” His father’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he snapped out of his dreaming: “What? I wasn’t asleep!” He looked up at Ravenblood and could just see the annoyance. “Fili, stop dreaming and clean those barrels. They are filled with rotten fish and it will stink if they stay on the ship. Go and throw them into the sea. And quick. I can’t stand that smell.” Ravenblood repeated himself as he shot Fili a warning glare.

Fili nodded quick as he bit his lip and closed his book. He stuffed the pencil between the pages and put the book back in his back pocket. He jumped off the barrel and walked over to the few barrels next to the stairs to the steering wheel.

He felt like throwing up when he experienced the awful smell his father just talked about. He carefully removed one of the lids on one of the barrels and threw his hand in front of his mouth. The fish that used to be grey and fresh were now green and yellow, a yellowish smoke coming off it. Flies were all over them and Fili had to look away and could just hear the rest of the crew laughing at him, happy they didn’t have to do it.

“Come on, son. Keep it inside.” Ravenblood encouraged sarcastically from above him. Fili shot him a rather deadly glare and quickly put the lid back on it and carefully laid the barrel on its side. He started rolling it to the upper end of the ship, the rest of the crew staying out of his way. He pulled it back up again and counted to three before quickly opening it, bending it over the railing and letting all the rotten fish fall out of it. He sighed in relief as he pulled back the empty barrel. “Well done, kiddo! Now the other five!”

* * *

 

The night had fallen and they were just done eating. Per usual, it was fish. It seemed like there was nothing else to eat lately. Fish, fish, fish. Fili got rather sick of it. He’d rather had a steak that another eel.

It was the first time the dwarves joined their ‘dinner’. It wasn’t really a dinner, there was nothing fancy about throwing food at each other and getting drunk.

The dwarves quietly spoke to each other, staying away from the crowded table. Fili kept thinking they just didn’t want to join while in reality Ravenblood found that they weren’t ‘familiar’ enough to join. Their dinner was that one time where they all sit together and talk. Ravenblood wanted to dwarves to naturalize a bit more around them.

* * *

 

All the men stayed in the sleeping quarters, there was nothing much to do anymore and they finally had time off. Ravenblood was in his study, looking at maps. The dwarves had crowded together in ‘their’ corner on the other end of the sleeping quarters. The pirates kept on looking at them, not used to having guests in their quarter.

Only Kili and Fili were still outside. Kili was leaning over the railing again, staring at the reflection of the moon in the sea. The waves were calm and it was peaceful and quiet. The sky was filled with stars and they were providing him from just enough light.

Fili had walked out of the quarter just so he could draw some things of the night. He had turned it into a habit. He would walk out onto the deck every single night. Unless his father wanted him inside, you would find him outside. And he was always alone.

Therefore he was quite surprised when he found Kili staring up. For a second, he hesitated on going back inside or staying outside like always. He went for the first choice, regardless his father’s warnings.

Fili walked up to Kili and silently leaned over the railing next to him. Kili’s head snapped up to him and he immediately stood straight: “I’m sorry, I-I shouldn’t be here.” “It’s fine, frankly. You can stay. It was me who needed to stay away from you. You still have permission to hang around with me. I’m the one ignoring all the warnings.” Fili stopped Kili from walking away.

Kili looked at him for a second before hesitantly leaning back over the railing. “The nights are beautiful, aren’t they? The beautiful night sky, the stars, the moon. The peace.” Fili spoke up when Kili didn’t say a word. Kili nodded and looked up: “I saw a fire moon once.” Fili snapped up to him and Kili continued: “I was patrolling for my uncle to see if the area was safe. And there it was. Huge fire moon. Red and yellow filled the sky. It was beautiful. I wish I could show you.” Fili cracked a huge smile: “It has been one of my many wishes to see a fire moon in real life. Consider yourself lucky, Kili.”

Kili grinned a little and noticed the bit of black sticking out of Fili’s pocket. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at it: “What’s that, if I may ask?”  Fili looked at where Kili was directing and saw it was his book. He suddenly got an idea and grabbed it. He showed it to Kili and said: “This here, this is my book of imagination. I love drawing so it is filled with all kinds of drawings.” “Oh, really? That’s amazing.” Kili smiled, looking at the doodles of birds. Fili nodded and looked up: “May I ask you something?” Kili nodded and Fili said: “I am going to be honest with you. I really want to draw you. Don’t be freaked out, I draw a lot of people. I can draw you from a distance, that’s not the point. I just really want to see what’s on the clip in your hair.”

Kili stared at him in awe and choked out in utter surprise: “I am interesting enough to draw?! I feel so honoured! Hang on, let me get my clip.” Kili removed the clip from his hair, letting the strands fall next to his face. He carefully handed it to Fili: “Please be careful with it. It means a lot to me.” Fili nodded and took it from him. He gently hold it up and started drawing the patron in quick motion. Within a minute, Kili had it back again.

“Done already?” Kili asked confused as he clipped back his hair again. Fili chuckled and nodded: “A quick sketch is enough for me. It is a really beautiful clip, Kili.” Kili smiled and turned back to the sea. Fili joined him again and together they watched how the waves calmly gave the moon different shapes.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment if you enjoyed it:) Thanks for reading! x


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